The original puzzle may be found here.
This was quite a gentle puzzle with some good clues. A few of the devices were maybe a little obvious (I'm thinking particularly of the anagrams in 10A and 12A where the wording was too contrived to be anything else) but 19A was a lovely anagram and 1D had a nice surface. There was a Nina around the perimeter of the puzzle which speeded up the finishing of it.
| ACROSS | ||
| 7 | YOUNGER |
More recent winner of Pop Idol seen by European river (7)
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Young(=Will Young, winner of the first series of Pop Idol) + E{uropean} r{iver} |
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| 8 | CHAPPIE |
Man taps phone program that is … (7)
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CH(=c{old} and h{ot} taps) + app(=phone program) + i.e.(=that is) |
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| 10 | PATIENCE |
… surprisingly neat epic game (8)
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(Neat epic)* |
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| 11 | LARIAT |
Burglar I attacked holding rope (6)
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Hidden in burlar I attacked. A lariat is a type of lasso. |
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| 12 | INEXPEDIENT |
Unsuitable pix? I need ten developed (11)
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(Pix I need ten)* |
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| 15 | PEAR |
Conference maybe cut back we hear (4)
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Hom of pare(=cut back). Conference is a type of pear. |
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| 17 | CLING |
Hold fast having caught fish (5)
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C{aught}(=cricket abbrev) + ling(=type of fish) |
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| 18 | CIAO |
See you appearing regularly in Chicago (4)
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Odd letters of Chicago |
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| 19 | PLAYS TRUANT |
A trusty plan devised for what Ferris Bueller does (5,6)
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(A trusty plan)*. Refers to the film Ferris Bueller's Day Off in which the titular character plays truant from school. |
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| 22 | OCTROI |
Tax return on investment after 31 days (6)
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(R{eturn} O{n} I{nvestment}) after Oct{ober}(=31 days). An octroi is a kind of local consumption tax. |
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| 23 | ON THE JOB |
At work dealing with article and book (2,3,3)
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On(=dealing with) + the(=article) + job(=Biblical book) |
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| 25 | PATELLA |
Meat spread all around bone (7)
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Pâté(=meat) + all* |
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| 26 | QUECHUA |
Which Spanish friend finally abandoned a Peruvian? (7)
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Que(=Spanish for which) + chu[m](=friend losing last letter) + a. Quechua is a native people and language of Peru. |
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| DOWN | ||
| 1 | WOMANISER |
Lothario‘s shrewder when touring gulf state (9)
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Wiser(=shrewder) around Oman(=gulf state) |
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| 2 | ENTICE |
Lead astray some apprentices (6)
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Hidden in apprentices |
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| 3 | LEAN |
Unprofitable bank (4)
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DD |
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| 4 | CHALLENGER |
Test top of rainwater tank (10)
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Challenge(=test) + r[ainwater]. The Challenger was a WW2 tank. |
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| 5 | OPERATIC |
Histrionic pub server describes age (8)
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Optic(=device for measuring spirit quantities in a pub) around era(=age) |
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| 6 | MILAN |
Motorway network in Italian city (5)
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MI(=Motorway) + LAN(=local area network) |
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| 9 | READMISSION |
Study purpose for return to hospital? (11)
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Read(=study, as in "read law") + mission(=purpose) |
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| 13 | PICCALILLI |
Film title about independent group of soldiers in a pickle (10)
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Pic(=film) + (call(=title) around i{ndependent}) + l{ight} i{nfantry}(=group of soldiers) |
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| 14 | GASTROPUB |
Pastor with bug is tipsy in posh boozer (9)
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(Pastor bug)* |
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| 16 | REPORTER |
Writer raised hesitation over old railway worker (8)
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Er<(=hesitation raised) + porter(=old railway worker) |
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| 20 | AGENCY |
Time chairman originally enters City office (6)
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Age(=time) + (c[hairman] in N{ew} Y{ork}(=city)) |
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| 21 | OCTAL |
Officer commanding old volunteers left base (5)
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OC(=officer commanding) + TA(=territorial army, the old form of the Army Reserve) + l{eft}. Octal refers to a numbering system based on 8 rather than 10. |
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| 24 | THUG |
Tough husband aboard boat (4)
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H{usband} in tug(=boat). Tough can be used as a noun meaning a thug e.g. "I hired a couple of toughs to scare them off". |
I agree with Neal that this was quite gentle particularly for this setter and the Nina definitely helped with the two answers which were new to me: OCTROI and QUECHUA.
Can we assume that the message relates to a new arrival in Kairos’ family? If so, congratulations and very best wishes to them.
PLAYS TRUANT was my favourite.
Thanks to Kairos and to Neal.
Like @1 Rabbit Dave OCTROI and QUECHUA were new to me as well but I completely missed the Nina so I was left stumped
I got PICCALILLI straight away but I couldn’t link LI with ‘group of soldiers’ but now I know from the blog about ‘Light Infantry’ – another soldier(s) abbreviation I’ll have to remember for the future!
Lastly, WOMANISER always makes me think of Harry Hill taking the mick out of her on his TV Burp show when she appeared on X Factor back in 2008 ‘performing’ her hit single at the time ‘Womaniser’. Here’s the clip if you want a Monday giggle https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7smi_Uhx5HI
Thanks Kairos and Neal
Some Kurious solutions from Kairos, but I think that the nina is the reason, so all is forgiven.
OCTROI, OCTAL, and QUECHUA had a job to do, but very unusually, I spotted the nina, so my misspelling of PICCALILLY dawned on me in time.
It’s a very skilful piece of setting, a mixture ( to be sure ) of angelic and devilish, which gets my seal of approval, despite some anagrams which were announced by megaphone.
I hope I am correct, to join in Poppy’s welcome…come on, Kairos, spill the beans!
Grand puzzle, grand blog, thumbs up all round, Kairos & NealH
Thanks both. Nearly got through this without surfacing for air, then stalled on the 3 oddities referenced above, where OCTROI seemed implausible OCTAL appeared drunk (officer commanding) and QUECHUA just non-English in answer and wordplay. I’ll also offer assumed congratulations – as a first-time grandparent since 20th May, it is still the gift which keeps giving.
For patella, I took paté as meat spread…